Special Edition 2012 - Navajo Nation’s Agriculture is Key to Diné Evolution

According to the Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture, livestock and agriculture have always been key to the evolution of Navajo (Diné) society, economy and in its development as a sovereign Nation.  Livestock ownership and agriculture are "timeless symbols of resourcefulness, prosperity and social status."

But the farmers and ranchers of the Navajo Nation desperately need help.

The Nation is one of the largest federally recognized Indian tribes in North America. The reservation – in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah – covers 25,351 square miles, or roughly the size of West Virginia. There are 253,124 enrolled tribal members, with 168,000 residing on the Navajo Nation. The socio-economic conditions there are truly grim.  The unemployment rate is 48 percent, and the average household income is a mere $8,240 per year, well below the poverty level.

The department knows that these factors "indicate a need for implementation of agricultural programs, policies, regulations and conservation programs to revitalize our rural economy for self-sufficiency."  But the department’s resources are very limited, and with such a huge land base those limited financial and human resources are stretched beyond the max.  Thus, the needs of many individual farmers and ranchers go unmet.

First Nations Development Institute has taken some big steps to help.  We launched the “Navajo Nation Western Agency Chapters Technical Assistance Project” in 2011 and recently completed the 18-month effort.  The purpose was to improve outreach and assistance to socially disadvantaged Navajo farmers and ranchers. We were supported in this effort by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Advocacy and Outreach. It’s all part of First Nations’ Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative.

Through the program, First Nations provided crucial technical assistance to the Dine College Land Grant Office so it can better serve individual farmers and ranchers on the Navajo Nation.  We provided a grant in the amount of $296,800.

With its various branches throughout the Navajo Nation, Diné College's Land Grant Office provides yet another means of assisting farmers and ranchers. It provides education, research and outreach, but it too has struggled with some unique challenges. With First Nations providing the office with technical assistance, it is becoming much more strategically focused and better prepared to achieve its mission and goals, as well as becoming more sustainable for the long term. Our effort also assisted four specific groups: Shonto Community Governance, North Leupp Family Farm, Tolani Lake Chapter, and Tonalea Chapter.

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